Thread: drinking

Is there an age at which it is legal to drink in Russia? Does it vary according to where you are drinking? House, restaurant etc?

It's the same in Russia as in any other country:
If babies don't drink beginning at the first day of their life they will die.
Therefore the minimum age at which it is legal to drink is zero.

Originally Posted by BJ

Is there an age at which it is legal to drink in Russia? Does it vary according to where you are drinking? House, restaurant etc?

Unless they have changed something recently, it is 18, at least you can't buy alcohol legally until you are 18. Of course, most kids get to know the taste of alcohol much earlier than that. I don't think that drinking at home is considered a criminal offence for a kid, but if authorities find out that an adult gives or sells alcohol to minors or enourages them to drink, he may have serious problems.

Ha ha Old Man!
I wonder why Georgia has no age restriction on alcohol consumption. Does anyone know why they decided this after the split?

Beer is not considerd alcohol and kids can but it at any kiosk or magazine. The beer companies are now fighting a new bill that will outlaw beer comercials on TV between 0700-2200, and any beer advertising on sports events. The beer consumption for teens is rising and the lawmakers think limiting advertising will stop this trend.

I think in reality you can pretty much buy alcohol at any age. 12 year olds can probably get it at a kiosk where the seller only cares about selling the product. Hey, I used to go out to the store and get bread, juice and a pack of cigarettes for my grandpa and no one said a word and I was like 10. And if you at least look remotly old enough you can get it at cafes and restaurants. I did and I wasn't 18.... Alot of kids usually get a sip of champagne at New Years or other celebrations. It's not really a big deal as far as I remember.

Originally Posted by astarz41

I think in reality you can pretty much buy alcohol at any age. 12 year olds can probably get it at a kiosk where the seller only cares about selling the product. Hey, I used to go out to the store and get bread, juice and a pack of cigarettes for my grandpa and no one said a word and I was like 10. And if you at least look remotly old enough you can get it at cafes and restaurants. I did and I wasn't 18.... Alot of kids usually get a sip of champagne at New Years or other celebrations. It's not really a big deal as far as I remember.

That's right, and it's always been like this. Long ago, when I was a schoolboy during Brezhnev's rule, I bought my first bottle of wine at 16, I think. Or was it 15?

LOL. You guys are thilly.
So, how does the average Russian 12 year old act after homework every night?:

"I....can't...make..it...toooo.....myy...BEER!.... ............BRRING..it....to..MEEEEeeeeee!"

I frequently see groups of 12 year olds on the street or in the parks drinking beer and smoking. I don't think they are too worried about their homework.

Then thats not too different than in the US. If you know where to go, you can get alcohol and cigarettes. Some places still have those old cigarette machines. Anyone can go up and get some. I don't think you'll see a group of twelve-year-olds drinking and smoking on the street. And I'm pretty sure they won't let a 12-yr-old buy a beer ( I could be wrong, in fact I probably am wrong) but, in 8th-9th grade I heard of certain places that would sell to kids.

no one sells to 12 year olds, I'm in my 20's and I still get carded, we are very strict over here.

my friend just turned 18, he started buying ciggs just so he could get carded.... but no one has carded him yet.

I have lived in several countries and I would have to say that the US is the most uptight about cigarrettes and alcohol that I have come accross. I grew up in Australia and by the time I was 16 I was having a beer in the local pubs with everyone else. By the time I was 15 I had finnished school and had a job, on a cattle station. And so was most of the kids who I went to school with. Over here if you are 15 or 16 and not in school they call you a drop-out and think you are a "runnaway". And heaven forbid if you have a drink and you are under 21, Oh.. call the SWAT team....get the womenfolk off the streets and close the curtains.

do russian people like to drink: ice tea, or sweetened tea???

hot tea, lots of sugar, lemon slices in sugar, or honey and lemon for a sore throat

ooops! forgot about hot tea with jam

JB, Where in L.A. do you live?!? Unless you were talking about in Russia....I have -sadly- lived in L.A. almost all my life and I have yet to see 12 year olds drinking and smoking in parking lots...Not even in Compton...Unless you were joking...in which case I take the whole first half of this post back.
Part of the reason why we are so strict over here is because people are stupid. More often than not, people don't drink responsibly. We have these laws because we messed things up from the gate. We had more freedom, and people pissed all over it. In other countries it isn't such a big deal to be ridiculously drunk all the time-other cultures handle themselves better.

JB, does it matter what type of jam?

Originally Posted by BJ

JB, does it matter what type of jam?

I can tell you that it's mostly raspberry jam

Jam: in the summer we pick lots of different berries (can't remember the Russian names but have never seen these in America)from the dacha and make fresh (not cooked) jam with just sugar. We also have jumbo jars of смородина (cooked) jam which our uncle makes by the truckload every summer. We like rasberry jam in our tea but never buy it as we are inundated with the homemade jam, which is also delicious in tea (and over ice cream, over fresh fruit, and just plain spoonfuls for desert!)

Tiara, When in The US, I live near San Marino where alchohol is not even legal in the restaurants much less on the street. But when I am in Moscow I, along with everyone else, enjoy having a beer or wine cooler while strolling through the park on a warm summer day. But this may soon come to an end. Yesterday, in Russian news, I saw that a new law is being proposed that will outlaw drinking beer in public. This includes metros, parks, sidewlks etc. The article did not address if this would apply to all the little drink stands with a sitting area in the parks.